Something Missing
by bookwrm
Summary: Miss Hardbroom's Life story. The bun and the black dress are a cover up for pain.
1. pumpkins

Disclaimer: Okay so this is my first attempt at posting fanfiction! Yikes. Well this story is actually something I wrote for a creative writing class a few years ago, and so I broke it up a bit. I really like the idea of Miss Hardbroom being a Black but I don't feel that I know enough about that aspect to write about that, although I love the other stories done on this page. So basically a lot of this is made up due to my knowledge of the books and limited knowledge of the show.  
  
Constance sat crouched on the lowest shelf of the bookcase behind her father's desk. The shelf was fairly tall, but Constance was so small and tiny she would have fit in the tiniest space. She sat there reading Pride and Prejudice, pausing every now and then to look up word in a dictionary that appeared larger than her. She was only 6 years old, but she had shown signs of brilliance very early on. She had been able to make her cake explode on her first birthday and there was no book that was to challenging for her. She read quite a lot of the spell books her father had, but she had a love for human literature. All the while her ears were open listening for that familiar sound.  
  
There it was, she threw down her book and curled into an even smaller ball. There was a jangling of keys, a click, and a loud creak as the front door opened. Constance heard her mother greeting her father and finally exclaiming loudly, "Well Rupert, I think we have a stowaway in our house." "Really," he exclaimed, "I bet she's after the pumpkins. Don't worry Dear, I'll track her down."  
  
Constance giggled; her father was so silly. Everyday, this ritual occurred and yet she never tired of it. She heard her father coming toward his office and tried to stifle her giggle. "Hmm I wonder if the pumpkin thief is in here. Hmm, perhaps she's in my desk drawer." Constance snorted through her hand. "Well, what do we have here? My little pumpkin," he said grabbing her and spinning her through the air. He gave her a kiss on the check; his beard scratched her check. "Oh daddy, how could you think I was in your desk." "You're right pumpkin, you are way to smart for me," he said bringing her into the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner and The Baby was sitting in a high chair.  
  
The Baby was the one glitch in Constance's happy life. Her parents had showered her with all of their love and attention since she was born, but when her mother had started to blow up like a balloon, their attention had shifted. Soon Constance had a little sister. At first she had loved it; it would be someone to share in her games, but she soon learned that The Baby took up all the space in her mother's arms and The Baby took up her story time. Her father had joked that she could really read to herself, but she insisted that her father read to her each night.  
  
"Rupert, guess what little Charity did today." Her mother exclaimed while checking the meat in the oven, "She ate her peas without throwing any of them on the floor!" "Well, look at my baby girl," Contance's father glowed, "Alexandria, she is learning so fast, what a smart girl!"  
  
Constance sat pouting in the chair; she was her father's smart girl, not her sister. Charity was one and a half and hadn't shown her powers yet and all she did was put things in her mouth and drool. But she still loved her sister anyways, her sister would always smile at her and Constance couldn't be mad at her sister for long. Besides, she was much smarter than Charity.  
  
As the family ate dinner, Constance couldn't help but smile to herself. She had such a great family; she hoped she would always be this happy. Unfortunately, fate wasn't so kind to Constance. Moments like these were wiped out of her memory almost completely from the events of the next couple of years.  
  
As her baby sister grew up, she followed Constance everywhere. She always wanted to play with Constance or watch her. Personally Constance found it annoying, but she had no one else to play with; she was painfully shy at 8 years old and even though she had won all the awards her school had to offer she was a loner. Her father would play with her, but lately he had been busy with secret events at the office of Magic problems. He was on the board of Wizards and all Constance knew was that his job was very important. Some days he wouldn't even look for her in his office; he would go straight up stairs to change. Her mother was just as busy, she was a teacher and so during the days she would drop off Constance at school and Charity at witchcare and work a full day at Weirdsister College. But when the family came home, they laughed and talked as if they had spent the whole day together.  
  
But, her mother started staying home more and eventually stopped working altogether. When Constance asked why she said, "Oh sweetie, it was just to much for me, plus I wanted to be with you and your sister." And it was true her mom was around a lot more than she had ever been when they were little. When they came home from school she was ready with open arms and cinnamon cookies, Constance's favorite. She looked forward to coming home because it was at home that she was the most happy. They had quite a large backyard and her mother would often sit outside and watch them play. Constance loved to read under the maple tree while her sister would run around like crazy in the garden. One day it started raining hard and her mother had to spend a good 30 minutes chasing her sister down.  
  
As Constance remembered, it was her sister who started coughing first. She had a high fever that night and was shaking. She helped her mother take care of Charity; bewitching the cloth on her forehead to become cool and feeding her a potion her mother had whipped up in the kitchen. Constance greatly admired her mother's potion skills, she had a potion for every problem and sometimes Constance would just watch her in the kitchen and try to memorize everything that she did. Luckily, her mother's potion did the trick, Charity got better. But as Charity was getting better, her mother was getting worse. She had a slight cough the day that she had chased Charity out in the rain, but after three days it had turned to an unbearable hacking. Her father was very distraught when he returned from a business trip 3 days later.  
  
"Alex, you know you weren't supposed to exert yourself, you need rest" he said in a concerned tone and immediately called the doctor.  
  
This was the beginning of a long period of bed rest for her mother. Constance would go in her mother's room and sit with her; her mother slipping further and further every day. She had a deep cough and her skin grew pale and cold as snow. One day, a day which is engrained in Constance's memory forever, her mother asked her to make a potion for her cough. The doctor normally supplied it but it had ran out and she needed some as soon as possible. As Constance reflected on this, years later, she realized she should have called the doctor, but being a confident child she made the potion, carefully measuring out the ingredients. She served it to her mother in a purple plastic cup. Her mother smiled warmly as she raised the cup to her lips and drank the potion. "Constance you made this perfectly, you have a real knack for potions."  
  
But even that medicine could do little good. One day, Constance went into her mother's room to bring her some chicken soup and found her mother dead; her lifeless arms hanging over the edge of the bed. Constance ran, it was all she could do. It had started to snow and she ran out into it, screaming, choking with sobs.  
  
Her father found her underneath the maple tree half frozen and brought her in. His little pumpkin. But this time there was no hug when he found her. There was no laughter, only the clock striking midnight. A change in time and in their lives. 


	2. turn for the worst

"That's Constance Hardbroom, the girl whose mother died."  
  
Whispers went around the school yard, these girls thrived on gossip. When Mrs. Hardbroom died they had felt sorry for the girl who rarely talked, who sat out on the games they played at recess, who was the teacher's pet. Constance had forced a smile and had let herself be comforted by girls who never gave her the time of day.  
  
But soon the other girls saw that there efforts to reach her were futile and Constance was forgotten. No one wanted to play with the shy girl, who now only talked to give an answer to the teacher. No one wanted to play with the pale girl in black, in fact the only thing they wanted to do was make fun of her behind her back. But Constance still knew and this only added to the hurt she was feeling. She did the only thing she could do; threw herself into her school work. All she did was study. She stayed in during recess under the artificial lights, and at home...well at home she did all she could to forget.  
  
Her father spent all his extra time in his study. Coming out only for dinner and to sleep each night. He had loved Alexandria more than life itself and when she had been diagnosed with a rare lung disease he had done all he could to make her comfortable. The doctor said it wasn't fatal, it was just painful. He never imagined that his wife would die. He knew Constance hadn't done anything to cause her mother's death but unconsciously he blamed her. There was little talk at the dinner table, except for Charity's incessant battle. She was so young when her mother died she kept asking where her mother was. "She went away for a while," her father kept replying and soon Charity stopped asking all together.  
  
Charity was now 8 years old and was the exact opposite of her sister. She was a very talented artist, she spent all her time painting. She failed horribly at school and her magic wasn't at the level it should be. But her father didn't scold her, instead he praised her for her art. Constance worked hard and succeeded at everything, but there was no praise for her, only a "good", while Charity's art work always provoked a kiss and a smile from her father. She saw how painful it was for her father to look at her. And it wasn't just her mother's death, it was because she was growing to look more and more like her mother each day. Charity had her father's tawny hair while Constance had her mother's jet black hair and straight nose.  
  
Since her father was gone so much, it was her responsibility to look after her sister after school. Constance would watch as her sister flew home on her broom, surrounded by her group of friends. It hurt so much to watch her sister, who seemed perfectly happy and content.  
  
"Come on Connie, what do you wan to play today," her sister shouted as she came bursting through the door, sneakers tracking in mud and hair coming lose from her two braids. She was such a mess sometimes.  
  
"I don't know, how about terror tag," Constance said starting to smile, her sister made her forget some times, "You know, we'll both separate and try to scare each other. First one to get to 7 scares wins."  
  
And the girls eagerly set out to prepare themselves. Constance knew that her sister would take forever to find her so she set off immediately with a plan of action. She knew she wasn't supposed to use magic but she put a transparency charm on some sunglasses so she could see through doors. Her sister was hiding under her bed and as Constance could plainly see, her hands were on her face pulling her mouth open ready to scare Constance. With a quick jump, Constance fell to the floor and shouted boo. Her sister shrieked, then giggled. "Oh Connie, no fair," she shrieked.  
  
Constance ran out of the room quickly to find a new hiding spot. She chose the hall closet. "Oh shoot," she thought, "I left my glasses on the bed upstairs."  
  
She waited until she heard footsteps approaching the closet, she wasn't going to wait for her sister to find her. She put her fingers on the corner of her eyes and pulled them back. "Gaaaahhhhh," she screamed jumping out of the closet.  
  
"Constance Aurelia Hardbroom," it was her father's voice, "what are you doing."  
  
At that moment her sister came running down the stairs and gave her father a big hug. "Dad, you're home!!" He smiled and gave her a hug, then turned to Constance and said, "Constance, you are older, you are supposed to set an example for you sister." Constance hung her head in shame.  
  
"Well, I had hoped to introduce a young lady tonight but Persephone, this is my oldest daughter Constance and this is my baby Charity," he said to a blonde woman standing next to him that Constance had just noticed. "Lovely to meet you both," she said.  
  
"Girls, go get washed up for dinner. Why Charity, you are a mess, Constance go help your sister. We will be having a guest for dinner. I'm going to make my specialty chicken." Constance took her sister and went up stairs as quickly as possible. Who was this woman. Was she a friend didn't even want to think about it.  
  
Dinner was friendlier than usual. Her father asked both of them how their day at school was and proceeded to talk to Persephone about the girls. "Constance is at the top of her class and charity is the best artist I know," he said with a smile. "Well, I'd love to see some of that art sometime" "Sure" Charity replied with a grin. Constance couldn't believe her sister. Why was she being so friendly. There was something about this woman that wasn't right. Sure she was beautiful, but Constance could tell it was a cold beauty, the woman's skin looked like ice and her eyes were a sharp blue. No not a sharp blue, more of a malicious blue, Constance thought. 


	3. Something stolen

Persephone started coming over more for dinner and spent more and more evenings at the house 'going over paperwork' with Rupert. Charity, being the clueless happy child that she was, took a huge liking to Persephone. Every time she came over, Charity would rush downstairs and give her a hug, showing her the newest painting that she made. Constance, trying to be civil, would say a quick hello, then retreat to her room to read. "Constance," it was Persephone at the door, "can I come in?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Well, your father told me you were really interested in potions so I brought along one of my old college potion books. It's a little advanced, but I'm sure you'll be able to understand it easily." Constance did love potions, because of her mother, and the sight of a new book to read was unbearable. "Thank you," she said smoothly, "but you can't win me over like Charity. A book isn't going to make me like you."  
  
Persephone sighed. "Fine Constance, I've tried but it seems that you are just to stubborn. You don't have to like me, but believe me, there will be a time that you wish you had been a little nicer to me." She left the book on the bed and walked out, slamming the door. Constance decided right then that she needed to keep Persephone away from her father. She was still contemplating ideas when she went down to dinner.  
  
"Well girls, I have an announcement to make," her father said briskly after they had started eating their pasta, "I've asked Persephone to marry me and she said yes so you girls are going to have a new mother."  
  
"A new mother," Charity exclaimed, "oh wow, now we can paint together all the time, and bake cookies, and..."  
  
"No," Constance stood up and threw her napkin down, "She's not our mother. Our mother is dead and dad has no right to marry another woman." "But Constance," her father started. "No dad, how can you forget about mom, how can you marry this evil woman." "Constance I never will forget about your mother, but I need to move on and so do you. I love Persephone and I thought it was time for both of you to have a mother again." "Well I hate her, and if you marry her I refuse to be a part of this family." And with that she stomped off to her room and slammed the door.  
  
Her father got up to go talk to her, but Persephone interrupted, "Dear let me talk to her, I feel that I am the problem, let me reason with her." Rupert smiled and wearily sat down at the table.  
  
Persephone didn't even knock. She opened the door and closed it tightly. "Listen you little brat, I have tried to be nice to you but I can see there is no reasoning with you. If you aren't happy with this marriage then we can send you off to a boarding school instead of living here." Constance jumped up in surprise. "But, but you can't do that." "Oh no?" Persephone interjected, "I think I can, in fact by the time I'm done you father will not only love it, he will think that it's his idea. Look, my husband cheated on me and took all of my money. I finally found a man who I know won't hurt me and is rich enough to support me so if you don't like it, then too bad." She left the room and slammed the door. Constance didn't know what to say at first and then she ran downstairs and announced to the table, "I'm sorry, I was just upset over mother, really. I accept this marriage, I really do." There, that would ensure she wouldn't get sent off to school. "Oh Constance I'm so glad you feel that way," her father said beaming at Persephone. He didn't notice the smug grin she was shooting at Constance.  
  
They were married as quickly as possible and seeing as how Persephone had little family left, it was a small wedding. Life was different with Persephone around and in Constance's opinion, a lot worse. She was wonderful when her father was home, but when he wasn't, she was horrible to Constance. She spent all of her time and attention on Charity telling Constance she could fend for herself. Constance now began to look forward to school, where she could sit and think in peace. Home was a place that was painful, that was dark and cruel. She knew that she couldn't do anything big, but she spent her spare time thinking of ways to get her stepmother back for her cruelty. At first it was little things like hiding her favorite pair of earrings or putting itching potion in her shampoo, but gradually she moved on to riskier things like putting a purple spotting potion in her stepmother's face lotion. Persephone broke out into purple spots on her face and even the doctor had no clue what caused it. "It's alright doctor, I'm sure it will go away in a few days," she said glaring at Constance.  
  
The next day she heard Persephone shouting to Rupert, "My diamond ring is gone, my engagement ring is gone," "Well dear, when did you last have it, I'm sure you just misplaced it." "Well I took it off to do the dishes, so it wouldn't fall down the sink, and I did go to answer the door when it rang, but I was only away from the kitchen for a few minutes." Constance didn't remember the doorbell ringing, she wondered what her stepmother was up to. "Well maybe it fell while you were away, let's check the sink." Constance heard some scrapping noises. "You know, Rupert, I don't mean to be funny, but what if one of the kids took it or something." "Well I don't think either one would take it but...." "Well Constance was the only other one home today, I don't know maybe she took it...." "Hmm well we could at least ask her," she heard her father say. She heard movement on the stairs towards her room. She knew what was happening; her stepmother was trying to blame her, well this time she hadn't touched her ring.  
  
"Constance can I ask you something," her father said, coming into the room. "Sure dad." "Persephone's engagement ring is missing and we were wondering if you knew where it was." "Nope sorry, don't have it," and Constance returned to the book she was reading.  
  
"Then you won't mind if we search your room," her stepmother said. "What...that's not fair," Constance jumped up from the bed. "Look, if you don't have it, then it's not a big deal ok," her father said. So she consented and almost as soon as Persephone started looking through Constance's bookbag she found an envelope with the ring and a note in it. "Dad, I swear it wasn't there before, she must have put it there." Her father looked seriously doubtful. He read the letter and looked shocked. "Constance, what is the meaning of this, exchanging the ring to your friend for her ticket to London. Why would you want to leave, and why would you lie?" He looked crushed. "But dad, I didn't write that letter, I don't want to leave, I want to stay here with you." "Look kid, it's your handwriting." She looked and it was, that stupid woman must have bewitched the letter to look like Constance's handwriting.  
  
"Fine, Constance, if you want to leave then we can send you to boarding school. We had been talking about it, but I thought that I had brought you up in the right way and...."  
  
"Oh no dear," Persephone interjected, "it should be up to Constance, why I don't blame the girl for stealing the ring, the poor thing she just wanted get away from me I understand." And she started crying; the best fake crying Constance had ever seen in fact. "No, Persephone, I've made up my mind, Constance look at how much your mother cares for you and you still..."  
  
"Stepmother, she will never be my mother!" In the background, Persephone gave off some hurt cries. "This was all a set up, but I see that I can't win here so fine, I'll go off to school as long as it gets me away from her."  
  
Constance flopped down on her bed and put her face in the pillow, she heard her father leave and her stepmother came over and whispered, "Now nothing can ruin my happy life". When she left, Constance started to cry. What had happened to her life, why was she so miserable? A person shouldn't be so miserable. Constance made up her mind right then and there to make her life better, maybe being away from this house would help. She would become a potions teacher like her mother. "Please help me mom, please help me." She sent up a silent prayer to her mother, the only joy that had ever been in her life. 


	4. dark halls

It was raining the day she arrived at Broomhead's private all girls academy. Her father had explained to her that it was a school that would teach her everything she needed to know about potions and would impart strict discipline. He really seemed to think it was a wonderful place. Judging by the cold stone walls and the dying trees that surrounded the place, Constance didn't think it was so wonderful. The headmistress came out to unlock the front gate and let them in. She was worse that the building. Her hair was pulled up so tight it looked painful and her dark black dress accentuated her sharp curves. She was wearing black glasses and a fake smile. "Well hello Mr. And Mrs. Hardbroom, welcome to Broomhead's Academy. I am head Mistress Heckity Broomhead", she said with a yellow smile. She proceed to unlock the gate and ushered the family into the dark grounds and the even darker house. She showed them around; the classrooms, the dining room, and the bedroom where Constance would sleep. Constance whispered to her father, "Dad, it's so bare and cold." "Well, Miss Hardbroom," Heckity interrupted, "here at Broomhead's we feel a little cold air is good for the body and knickknacks clutter up the place." Her father nodded eagerly, but Constance just stared back, too repulsed to speak. And then it was time for her father and stepmother to say goodbye. Persephone, of course, gave her a dramatic hug and even shed a tear. Her father said tenderly, "Goodbye pumpkin, we'll see you at Christmas." Pumpkin, he hadn't called her that, well since her mother had died. She felt comforted by this and hugged her father closer, realizing that he did really love her. Maybe he was doing this because he cared, maybe she would be okay after all.

But after they left she realized she wasn't going to be okay. As soon as the door was closed, Heckity barked, "Alright Hardbroom, it's time for first period, move it." Terrified, Constance followed Heckity to the first classroom. "Now class we have a new student today, her name is Constance Hardbroom." The class stared back, too terrified to say anything. "Well, of course you first years don't know anything. When a new student comes in it is polite to say hello," she shouted. The class said hello at the same time, like a mechanical robot. Heckity pointed to a seat in the middle for Constance to sit in and once she was seated began her lecture. Constance was amazed at how different this class was from her old one. Everyone sat as straight up as possible; no one talked, no one passed notes, all they did was take notes with rapt attention. Constance tried to pay as close attention to the lecture on famous witches of the Salem witch trials as she could.

After about an hour Heckity closed her notebook and all of the rest of the class closed theirs. "Now, if you will all line up in a straight line, it's time for assessments." Assessments? Constance wondered if they were tested like this everyday. She was just used to a midterm and a final. Each student had to approach Heckity's desk and answer a question from the lecture. Now Constance understood why everyone was paying such close attention; the questions were hard! Most students got them wrong and when that happened they were forced to hold out their hands while Heckity smacked them with a ruler. Then they had to get back in line and try again until they got a question wrong. Soon it was Constance's turn. "What was the exact date that Miriam Blackster turned into a cat to escape her burning." Constance ransacked her brain for an answer. She started thinking about Miriam Blackster. What had Heckity said about her? Immediately Constance remembered September 1692. But wait what day? Somehow the 19th seemed to come to her mind. "September 19th, 1692" Constance said shakily. "Why, that is right," Heckity seemed dismayed," but you forgot to say mam and at my academy it is important to respect your elders. Please hold out your hands and then you may go sit down. So Constance held out her hands and winced as both of them were beaten with a ruler 5 times. She sat down and rubbed her aching hands, she would never forget to say mam again. Although she did feel proud of herself for remembering that bit of information; Constance always took the best notes.

After history was over the class had broomstick lessons with another teacher called Miss Dismal. And Constance thought that her name did her perfect justice, she had grey hair and a faded loose fitting black dress. She spoke in a monotone voice and had a very dry cough. At least she didn't hit them, but she did belittle those who didn't sit up perfectly and have their feet pointed. To her, form was everything. Luckily, Constance had private lessons as a child and so was able to fly with only a few cruel remarks.

Next came lunch time. Lunch was nothing spectacular; it was a mucky stew with a piece of bread with butter. The lunch lady called the stew nutritious; Constance called it gross. There was little talking at the table; the students were all too afraid and if there was any talking at all it was about school. One girl next to her turned to her timidly and said, "It was amazing how you were able to answer Miss Broomhead's question seeing as it is your first day." "Pure luck I guess, and I still got hit for it anyways," Constance said with a slight smile) no one had started up a conversation with her at her old school. "Well, everyone gets punished at some time during the day. That's really the only object of studying here; to escape a beating." "Tell me," Constance sat forward, "I'm here because my stepmother wanted to get rid of me, why are you here?" "Well I wasn't doing very well in school and my father insisted it was because of the lax curriculum, so I was sent here." The girls stopped talking because one of the teachers was walking down the aisle staring at them meanly.

The rest of the day included a potions class, which was simple for Constance, and a spell chanting class. There would be a lot of memorizing involved in that class! Then there was a dinner that was strangely similar to the lunch they had. Constance sat next to the same girl she had talked to at lunch. "Hi there, I realized I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Constance." "And my name is Sydney, it's always nice to meet someone new." The girls continued their conversation on magic history all through dinner and even up to their rooms. "Well I'll see you tomorrow," said Sydney, "But it's only 6 o'clock?" "Yes, well bedtime is at 9 and so this time is coveted study time. If I were you I'd study your spells, Professor Spellcaster likes to give quizzes every Friday." So Constance made her way to her drafty small bedroom. It was nothing like the one she had at home but she didn't mind. She sat up in bed studying until it was time for lights out.

The next day was Saturday, but instead of being a relaxing weekend day it was almost worse than school. Saturday and Sunday were the days that each student had a private lesson with Heckity that related to their majors. Since Constance was majoring in potions, that was the nature of her lesson. She approached the office timidly, then with one bold move knocked on the door. The door swung open and Heckity was sitting at her desk. "You're one minute late," she spoke coldly, "that will be added to your time." Constance wondered what she meant. "Now, I understand here that potions will be your choosen field. I must say not many people pick potions because it takes a great knowledge of substances and so i will be expecting alot from you if you are to graduate with a degree from me. So I want you to recite the first table of the elemental ingrediants." Constance stood still for a moment and then began, " First row; roots. Starside root, bunting root..." She went through the whole table without one mistake. "Hmm not bad, Heckity said, "However, you should say it louder and with more confidence." "Now we will start going through the properties of different potions. First off what are the complete effects of an invisibility potion. "Well, the user will turn invisble?" "Wrong!!, " Heckity thundered, "They will turn invisible but what will they experience? A person will experience light headedness and won't be able to feel their arms. Honestly, do you know anything." Constance felt tears rise to her eyes, never before had she been reprimanded by a teacher. She fought back the tears, determined not to let Heckity win. At the end of the hour she said, "Well let's see, for all of your little mistakes today that will be about 350 lines of my motto, "Decorum and Deportment at all times." Constance nodded and walked out of the room shocked; she had never failed before and she would never fail again even if she had to devote her whole life to studying.


	5. an unwanted prize

Opps sorry about not updating this story! It's been a hectic couple of weeks but the story has been pounding at my head waiting to be finished and so.....

Constance put the finishing touches on her essay: 'Extract of cat's tooth: Simple remover or deadly ingredient.' She spell checked the 12 page essay one more time; she knew that any mistake would be heavily criticized by Heckity who strived for perfection.

It was hard to believe that she had been at Heckity's academy for 3 years now. This year she would graduate, hopefully, if she managed to impress Heckity. At first Constance had just wanted to get out of this school. Every hour she studied, every paper she wrote, and every test she passed was just another step in escaping this mad hole. But now, after school had become her life, her obsession, she found that she really didn't mind school so much, in fact she enjoyed the work. And Heckity, well she didn't like her any more than when she had arrived at the school, but she now knew what provoked her anger. The one thing that still bothered Constance was that she still feared Heckity Broomhead more than anything. She had been hit so many times that a slap on the face didn't faze her as much as it used to, but the verbal abuse made her insides tighten. She fought for praise and not to be called stupid or a failure.

She headed to advanced potions and found Sydney waiting for her outside of the door. "Constance," she gushed, "I was waiting for you for 20 minutes!! I have the biggest news ever. Julie is getting married, you know her friend that kept visiting her, so she's dropping out of school and out of the competition!" Constance grabbed her hand and the two screamed under their breaths. The graduating competition was the biggest prize that any student could hope to gain. Each year, one student from each of the major divisions (potions, history, chanting, broom flying, and spells) was awarded this scholarship. It showed which students were the best and it gave them money to pursue a career in their chosen field. Sydney and Constance were both competing; Constance in potions and Sydney in spells. Julie Fishcaster had been Constance's biggest competition. "Shoot, Constance I have to go. Advanced spells starts in 5 minutes."

Constance watched her friend run off and went into her potions class feeling exhilarated, even a small class with Heckity couldn't shake her mood. She was surprised at first that she had become friends with Sydney. She normally liked to keep to herself but Sydney kept sitting by her at lunch and dinner and pretty soon they were studying together and whispering secrets between classes. She sat down at her desk remembering to sit straight with her elbows at her side. In her first year at Heckity's academy, Heckity had caught her one period slouching and had taken her, after class, to the posture closet. The posture closet taught the students a variety of lessons. Number one, spikes hurt a lot. Number two, it is possible to sit up straight for two hours to avoid being speared by one hundred large sharp spikes. She had always sat up straight in class after that episode.

Heckity came in at precisely 8 O'clock and the class fumbled around to sit up at attention. The class was for potion majors only and luckily for them all Heckity was teaching it this year. Since it was a small class being picked on by Heckity was a daily occurrence. "Now, since the competition is coming up in only a few short weeks, today would be a good day to test you on elixirs. If you will all stand up besides your desk we will begin." Constance stood beside her desk ready for Heckity's questions, she had studied late last night. "Let's see, Constance, what is the exact boiling temperature for a love elixir." "Exactly 101 degrees Celsius, mam." "That is correct." Constance answered all of Heckity's questions correctly and was the first one to sit down. She couldn't help feeling a surge of pride in her chest. She handed in her 12 page essay to Heckity at the end of the class feeling that for once, she had won, Heckity couldn't touch her anymore. But, unfortunately for Constance, she was wrong. Heckity might have ceased to bother her, but life still had a few punches left.

She met Sydney at their usual table. "So guess what, Heckity didn't yell at me today. I mean I didn't do anything wrong anyways, but you know normally she tells me to answer faster or corrects my answer even if it's right." "Wow Con, that is amazing. Just think how much she used to scare us when we were younger. I used to dread detentions with that woman. I think sometimes I even prayed to be asked to clean the dungeon or something!" The girls smiled as they ate their sandwiches. "So Con, what are you going to do when you've won the potion's scholarship?" "Well I haven't won it yet you know! And I should ask you the same question because no one is as good at spells as you! But what I really want to do is work in potions laboratory, you know making potions for people and hopefully creating a better changing potion. The one that is used now has a number of serious side effects that... What?" She saw that Sydney was giggling. "Oh Constance, even during lunch we always end up talking about school!" The two of them laughed and Constance could ever remember feeling this happy.

She spent the next few weeks studying. She lived potions. Sometimes Sydney would study with her and they would take turns quizzing each other and making up mnemonic devices to remember spells and potions. The annual competition came faster than they had expected and one day Constance woke up with butterflies in her stomach. She got out of bed and brushed her long dark brown hair back into a loose bun to keep her hair out of her face; Heckity hated loose hair. She slipped into her black school uniform and took deep breaths as she laced her pointy black boots. She went down into the great hall, which really wasn't that great Constance thought. She took her seat at the morning assembly. All of the older girls were nervously wringing their hands and some of them had note cards that they were flipping through. Sydney saw her, waved, and sat down next to Constance. They didn't talk, they just held each other's hands and sat quietly.

Soon the staff came onto the stage and Heckity took her place at the podium. "Well, today is a day that will mark the rest of your lives, whether you chose to rise to the challenge or not is what will show your true character. Now, since all of the teacher's will be needed to monitor the testing today, all of the younger students will have the typical half holiday, which will be spent studying. If we find any student out of line today, there will be serious consequences. All of the students taking the various tests today will go to their assigned rooms following the school song." She stepped of the podium with a cold glare and in the back of the room Miss Treble started playing the tune to the song on the great organ. When that was done with Constance and Sydney hugged briefly and went to their prospective rooms. The tests would have a general knowledge section filled with basic information from each subject and then a specific section dealing with their particular field. They had three hours. Constance sat ready with her ink quill in hand and when Miss Spellcaster rang the bell she began to write furiously. For the next three hours she was in a trance; all outside noises melted away and all of her knowledge swirled around her head. When the test was over she went to get a drink of water. She felt mentally exhausted and when she saw Sydney emerge she could tell that Syd felt the same way. They exchanged glances and went to back to their rooms to relax and talk; it felt wonderful to be done.

The next week at a big assembly, the winners were announced. "For spells; Sydney Cackle, For chanting; Mindy Talkings, For potions; Constance Hardbroom..." Constance heard nothing after her name was called. She walked up on stage and stood next to her friend, in disbelief. She managed a smile as the whole auditorium cheered for them. Heckity stepped up to the podium and began talking, "Congratulations to all of our winners on this momentus accomplishment. However, I do have some bad news; this year the funding to the scholarships has been cut a little short due to some problems in the Ministry of Magic. So in order to pick a winner for the money that we have we are going to have another competition between these five students." Constance stared at her in shock; she had to compete against her best friend.


	6. new life

The moon light danced softly across the gray blanket, for a moment making it sparkle. Constance stared off into the night sky and clutched her cat Morgana to her chest. She was lost to her own thoughts and plagued with worry. She scratched behind Morgana's ears and remembered the first time she had seen her cat.

It was in the middle of her first year, when she had finally gotten 100 points. All of the students had to obtain 100 points by answering questions right, getting perfect scores on tests, and for generally behaving well. Some students didn't receive a cat until their third year, but Constance had worked hard and had been one of the first to receive her cat. Sometimes she had gotten discouraged when Heckity took points away for being early to class or even for knocking over a bottle of newt's eyes which could be cleaned up easily. The cats had been presented to Constance, Julie, and some second years at the new year's assembly. She remembered being nervous that the cat wouldn't like her; after all, people had let her down. But when the shining ball of black fur was placed into her arms it was an instant friendship. She took excellent care of her cat, making sure to feed it and brush it everyday before school. She also worked harder than most to make sure her cat could fly well on the end of her broomstick. However, every night she went to sleep with the cat curled around her neck; its friendly embrace had helped her through a lot of punishments.

Constance smiled as she remembered naming her cat. The name came from the book she was reading at the time (of course!); The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser. She had finally made it to the end and was reading about Morgan Le Fay, the queen of the faeries, when it hit her. Morgan Le Fay was a very powerful person, and certainly an inspiration for naming her cat. She had been trying to think of a good name for weeks and she didn't want to settle on anything cute like pixie or midnight. "Morgan" she said out loud. Her cat turned from cleaning itself and looked at her with what appeared to be a look of disgust and then went back to cleaning itself. Morgan was too dull, there was something missing. Then an idea hit her; "Morgana," she said suddenly. The cat stopped what it was doing and meowed.

She had always come to Morgana when she needed some comfort. The cat seemed to understand its owner very well and knew that while she appeared very hard and studious on the outside, she sometimes need to breakdown. The cat could sense when she was upset and automatically wound its body around her neck.

Constance sighed as her thoughts moved away from the cat sitting in her lap. How could she compete against her best friend. She knew that Sydney needed the scholarship money very badly because her family wasn't rich. Constance realized that in all honestly she really didn't need the money. What she needed was to prove Heckity wrong. She thought that if she could be the best then all of the beatings, all of the lines she had to write out would be justified. She could finally be rid of the constant nightmare that haunted her dreams and made her days a living hell. She kissed Morgana in between the ears, perhaps the only affection she had shown since she was seven. It would be okay, it would work out.

The contest was nothing more than a big race containing all of the areas the girls excelled at. The whole race was to be on broomsticks. Their first tasks were to fly over to their assigned teacher and correctly say whatever chant would be randomly given to them that day. Then they had to fly to the next station, which was history. The history station was quite fun indeed; each contest was given a specific date in history and then had to go find the corresponding people and places that where on rocks in a huge mud pit below. The nest station was a simple spellcasting, or so it might seem. They were given a spell and in mid air, while flying had to correctly pronounce the spell. Then there was the potions station, which was the only station on the ground. The students had to dismount and make whatever potion was on their card and once approved could make the final broomstick sprint to the finish line. It seemed simple enough and more exciting than a written test.

Heckity was Constance's assigned teacher, who would be giving her spells and information and all of that. Wonderful, she thought, Heckity will probably delay me for not saying please or ma'am. Heckity marched up to her and Constance couldn't help but shivering a bit. "Well Hardbroom, this is it, your final test here at this academy. I simply wanted to tell you to win this time, don't screw up. I've watched you for three years now and was amazed at your potential Constance." Constance stared open mouthed at Heckity, she had never offered any praise before. "But, you were always screwing it up with your little mess ups. You may think that you know your potions, but you always feel short. If you don't win today you will have failed in all everything I have taught you. This is your moment now Constance, your moment to achieve the perfection I had hoped for." She patted Constance on the shoulder and Constance stared at her retreating figure with her heart pounding, only Heckity could do that to her.

All of a sudden she heard a voice say, "All contestants to the line, prepare to mount." She gulped as she stepped up right next to Sydney. Sydney smiled weakly at her and Constance nodded back. Over the past week, their friendship had been strained. They had still talked but they had ignored the competition coming up. They knew it would change their lives. "Alright now mount your brooms and........" Boom! The pistol sounded and they were off. Constance flew over to Heckity who immediately dictated, "Bat in the moon chant." Constance started chanting as fast as she could. Heckity nodded when she was done and gave her a slip of paper. It read; September 19th 1692. She knew exactly what she should be searching for. She nosedived towards the mud and saw that Mindy was already looking and that Sydney was right on her tail. She immediately began looking through the mud for the right rock. Luckily she found her first one right away. The second one took her a bit longer and by the time she had found it and given it to Heckity, Miny was already at the next station and Sydney was halfway there. Constance began flying as Heckity screamed out, "Hat to cake." Constance flew towards the huge heap of items on the ground, grabbed a hat, and in mid flight muttered the spell that would change it to a cake. It turned perfectly and she flew now to her favorite station. She looked at the card briefly; an invisibility potion, perfect. She quickly lighted her Bunsen burner and threw in a bottle of lizard eyes. She had no time to measure but her years in the potions lab had given her an instant eye for measuring. Her potion was almost done when she heard a loud popping sound; Mindy had made the wrong potion and it had exploded in her face. Constance stirred hers one last time and gave a spoon to Heckity who immediately turned invisible.

Constance grabbed her broom and mounted it as she ran, looking to the sky to see only Sydney ahead of her. She went as fast as she could but she could catch up. She was going to lose, she was going to fail. Constance Hardbroom never failed, she had to be the best. She gasped as her train of languishing was broken by the squeals of something horrible. Some sort of flying demons emerged from behind the school and were making their way towards her and Sydney. Griffins! There talons were sharp and she knew that these were probably there final test to see if they could maneuver a broomstick. She performed a steep nose dive and then a loop de loop to lose a particularly large one that was chasing her. She turned around quickly before it could follow her and saw one grab Sydney by the arm. Sydney, oh no she had to do something. But she saw the red ribbon just ahead of her, she was so close to the finish line, so close. She watched Sydney look at her and cry out for help. She had made up her mind, she had to help her friend. She saw the talons slicing her arms and she winced. Suddenly Heckity's voice broke though her thoughts, "This is your moment now Constance, your moment to achieve the perfection." This was her moment, she saw that the other two girls had made their potion and were mounting their brooms. She had to win, she had to be the best. In a sudden action that was more an impulse of her mind than her heart, she took her glance away from her crying friend and blazed through the ribbon. She had done it; she was the best witch.

The stadium had erupted into screams, but Constance heard none of it. She saw Heckity walking over with a smile, well not a smile, she never smiled, she looked smug. Students were rushing around Constance throwing roses at her and shouting. But she saw none of it. All she saw was Sydney being placed into a hospital stretcher, her arms bleeding like mad. All she saw was Heckity's evil grin, and the voice that had made her live up to her name; Hard. She had picked winning over her best friend, truly nothing could have been worse.

As soon as the school wide celebration was over, Constance ran down to the hospital wing. "Both arms have been damaged," she heard the nurse whisper to another nurse, "she'll never cast spells again." Constance looked over her friend with great sorrow. She felt responsible, she felt vulnerable and she hated feeling vulnerable. Sydney opened her eyes and stared at Constance for a moment or two. Then she spoke, "Well congratulations Constance." "Listen, Syd I..." "No no, don't apologize, we all know that you had to be the best, you had to answer all the questions right. It doesn't matter who you step on huh? Just remember that it's lonely at the top okay." Constance couldn't say anything, she felt too guilty. "Well I'm sure that you should be wasting your time talking to me, I mean now you're off to do such great things with you money now. I will be taking a job at a local wizard' s school. If I can't practice spells, the only thing I can do is teach them. You know I was going to get a job at my aunt's academy but she says she only has a spot for a potions teacher. But that wouldn't be good enough for you right Con?" "Oh stop, you know I didn't mean to do that, I couldn't do anything I...." "I think you could have done a lot Constance, one stunning spell. Did you think about that? You could have stunned them and then crossed the finish line." Constance stepped back, she hadn't thought of that, it would have been so simple but in the moment she had been too confused." "I'm sorry Syd, I really am." "I'll forgive you but I'll never forget. I'll never forget." She turned her head away and Constance slowly walked out of the hospital wing; she would never forget either. That was the trouble with people, in the end they always ended up hurting you.

Constance moved home for a while before she figured out where she wanted to work. She had dozens of laboratories asking for her and offering her loads of money, but she felt sick at the thought of this recognition and had given herself some time off to think. She returned to a somber home. Her father had passed away in his sleep a few nights prior and her stepmother had taken the family fortune and run off. Charity was greatly upset at the news, crying all day, but Constance remained unmoved, still bothered by the race. She felt sorrow at her father's death, but he had died peacefully and to be honest Charity had grown closer to him. Constance felt a pang in her heart and she remembered hiding in the bookcase and him twirling her up in the air.

Charity had nothing but the house, her father had left it to her and her new husband. He was a quiet sort of fellow, worked as an archeologist and feared Constance immediately. Charity was in despair; she was expecting a baby and though they had a house they had little income. They would have had some money, and Constance would have to, but Persephone had taken it all. The only thing Constance got out of her father's death was her mother's potion books and her mother's jeweled necklace. She remembered trying it on and hoping that one day she would be like her mother. The necklace was the only thing that Constance would have wanted and her father knew that; she had no need for a house or even money.

As Constance sat in her father's study, fingering a mouse eared copy of pride and prejudice, she realized what might be done. Immediately she went out to find Charity. "But, Constance I can't take your grant money, you need it for your potions' studies." "No Charity, I have decided that I really don't want to do that anymore. I want to become a teacher, like mother and I won't need the money then." "Constance, how can I ever repay you?" "There's no need to, think of it as an act of kindness, I feel that I need to do something good with that money." Charity hugged her, and smiled looking into the eyes of her older sister, whom she had never been able to understand.

Constance left the house that same week. She had decided to take the job at Cackle's academy. It would be a humble job, it would be a job where she could give something back. With her hair scragged back into the tightest bun possible and her mother's necklace hidden underneath the high neckline of her black dress, she put Morgana on the end of her broomstick and flew towards her new life.

"Amelia Cackle, Pleased to meet you." Constance nodded in return and followed the plump older lady to her office. She could already see that this would be fine, keeping in step with the shorter lady she said, "Miss Cackle I have a few suggestions on keeping decorum at all times."

The End.

Wow this one took forever but it's finally done. This is my first WW fanfic and hopefully not my last!


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